Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm.
A Song for the King of Glory
24 The earth and everything in it exists for the Lord—
the world and those who live in it.
2 Indeed, he founded it upon the seas,
he established it upon deep waters.[a]
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?[b]
Who may stand in his Holy Place?
4 The one who has innocent hands and a pure heart;
the person who does not delight in what is false
and does not swear an oath deceitfully.
5 This person[c] will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation that seeks him.
Those who seek your face
are the true seed of[d] Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads,[e] gates!
Be lifted up, ancient doors,
so the King of Glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads,[f] gates!
Be lifted up, ancient doors,
so the King of Glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of Glory?
The Lord of the heavenly armies—
He is the King of Glory.
A Davidic Psalm.
Praise to the Majestic Lord
29 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings;
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord wearing holy attire.
3 The voice of the Lord was heard[a] above the waters;
the God of glory thundered;
the Lord was heard[b] over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord snaps the cedars;[c]
the Lord snaps the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes them stagger like a calf,
even Lebanon and Sirion[d] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord shoots out flashes of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the voice of the Lord shakes[e] the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord causes deer to give birth,
and strips the forest bare.
In his Temple all of them shout, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat enthroned over the flood,
and the Lord sits as king forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
To the Director: On a stringed instrument.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
Divine Glory and Human Dignity
8 Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is your name in all the earth!
You set your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have established strength[b]
on account of your adversaries,
in order to silence the enemy and vengeful foe.
3 When I look at the heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you established—
4 what is man that you take notice of him,
or the son of man[c] that you pay attention to him?
5 You made him a little less than divine,[d]
but you crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You gave him dominion over the work of your hands,
you put all things under his feet:
7 Sheep and cattle—all of them,
wild creatures of the field,
8 birds in the sky,
fish in the sea—
whatever moves through the currents of the oceans.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is your name in all the earth!
To the Director: On the Gittith.
A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Longing for God
84 How lovely are your dwelling places,
Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
2 I desire and long
for the Temple[a] courts of the Lord.
My heart and body[b] sing for joy
to the living God.[c]
3 Even the sparrow found a house for herself
and the swallow a nest
to lay[d] her young at your altar,
Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
my king and God.
4 How happy are those who live in your Temple,
for they can praise you continuously.
5 How happy are those whose strength is in you,
whose heart is on your path.
6 They will pass through the Baca Valley
where he will prepare a spring for them;
even the early rain will cover it with blessings.
7 They will walk from strength to strength;
each will appear before God in Zion.
8 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, hear my prayer!
Listen, God of Jacob!
9 God, look at our shield,
and show favor to your anointed,
10 for a day in your Temple[e] courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather stand
at the entrance of God’s house
than live in the tent of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord grants grace and favor;
the Lord will not withhold any good thing
from those who walk blamelessly.
12 Lord of Heavenly Armies,
how happy are those who trust in you.
8 When they heard the voice of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to the man, asking him, “Where are you?”
10 “I heard your voice in the garden,” the man[a] answered, “and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you.”[b]
11 “Who told you that you are naked?” God[c] asked. “Did you eat fruit[d] from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man answered, “The woman whom you provided for[e] me gave me fruit[f] from the tree, and I ate some of it.”[g]
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What did you do?”[h]
“The Shining One[i] misled me,” the woman answered, “so I ate.”
The Penalty of Sin
14 The Lord God told the Shining One,[j]
“Because you have done this,
you are more cursed than all the livestock,
and more than all the earth’s animals,[k]
You’ll crawl on your belly
and eat dust
as long as you live.
15 “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman,
between your offspring and her offspring.
He’ll strike you on the head,
and you’ll strike him on the heel.”
The Vision of a Woman Dressed with the Sun
12 A spectacular sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a victor’s crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out from her labor pains, the agony of giving birth.
The Vision of the Red Dragon
3 Then another sign appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and knocked them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule[a] all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where a place had been prepared for her by God so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The Vision of War in Heaven
7 Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back. 8 But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.
The Vision of the Cry of Victory
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
“Now the salvation, the power,
the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah[b] have come.
For the one who accuses our brothers,
who accuses them day and night
in the presence of our God,
has been thrown out.
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his uniquely existing Son so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. 17 Because God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s uniquely existing Son. 19 And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil. 20 Everyone who practices wickedness hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his actions may not be exposed.[a] 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may become evident that his actions have God’s approval.”[b]
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